Drop for hammering sole-leather



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. H. WALKER, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

DROP FOR. HAMM-ERING SOLE-LEATHER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,703, dated May 10, 1864.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, J. H. WALKER, of the city and county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drops for Hammering and Hardening Sole-Leather; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had-to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a front view of the drop, and Fig. 2 represents a vertical cross-section through the same.

Similar letters of reference are used in both of the figures to denote like parts of the machine.

Soleleather heretofore has been hammered by hand or else run between pressure-rollers to smooth it down and make it uniform. The former is too slow an operation, and thelatter does not accomplish the purpose perfectly, though much used. To use a drop hammer, which must be of metal, upon an anvil or block of metal, would injure the leather, and hence such an operation is not practical.

My invention consists in using a hammer or drop and an anvil or block, one at least of which shall be faced with vulcanized or hardened rubber, or its equivalent elastic or yielding material, so that the sole-leather may be hardened and made smooth and of uniform thickness by being subjected to blows or pressure between such surfaces, which produces a better result than any of the appliances hitherto used.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describethe same with reference to the drawings. A represents a base, on which is placed a block, B, which 'may be faced with rubber or hard leather, a, or any other yielding and suftciently durable material. Upon the base B rises a frame, C, for supporting and guiding a drop, D, which also maybe faced with rubber or leather, c, or other sufficiently elastic and durable material that will serve the purpose.

I prefer to face both the hammer or drop and the anvil or block with the rubber or other equivalent material, but it is possible to do the work by facing but one of the surfaces, as stated. The drop and block may be of wood or of metal, or of parts of each, and the drop D may be raised up and let down in any of the usual well-known ways of working hammers or dropdies, or it may be attached to a crank or eccentric so as to be both raised and lowered by a positive motion instead of by its gravity, in 011e case acting by blows and in the other by pressure, but not rolling pressure, which not only rolls in creases, but does not do perfect work, as pressure-rolls do not.

Having thus fully described myV invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Hardening, smoothing, and making of uniform thickness sole and other thick leather by subjecting it to the action of a drop and block, one or both of which shall be faced with vulcanized rubber, hard leatheror their equivalent elastic and durable material or substance, substantially as described.

J. H. WALKER. Witnesses:

O. JILLsoN, TIM. R. GREEN. 

